Title: Strategic management of disruptive technologies: a practical framework in the context of voice services and of computing towards the cloud

Authors: Roman Kopetzky; Markus Günther; Natalia Kryvinska; Andreas Mladenow; Christine Strauss; Christian Stummer

Addresses: School of Business, Economics and Statistics, University of Vienna, Bruenner Str. 72, 1210 Vienna, Austria ' Department of Business Administration and Economics, Bielefeld University, Universitaetsstr. 25, 33615 Bielefeld, Germany ' Department of e-Business, School of Business, Economics and Statistics, University of Vienna, Bruenner Str. 72, 1210 Vienna, Austria ' Department of e-Business, School of Business, Economics and Statistics, University of Vienna, Bruenner Str. 72, 1210 Vienna, Austria ' Department of e-Business, School of Business, Economics and Statistics, University of Vienna, Bruenner Str. 72, 1210 Vienna, Austria ' Department of Business Administration and Economics, Bielefeld University, Universitaetsstr. 25, 33615 Bielefeld, Germany

Abstract: In many industries, large amounts of resources are allocated for continuous technology development. However, these investments may prove inefficient if a disruptive technology arises that provides new and more attractive customer propositions. While this phenomenon has been the subject of numerous papers, there is still a lack of managerial tools that properly address the challenge of responding to this threat. This paper provides an in-depth review of recent developments in the field and, furthermore outlines a tool that supports managers in identifying forthcoming disruptive technologies and providing them with tailored strategic options. The application of this approach is illustrated by means of two case studies: the mass-market voice services and computing organised as a public utility.

Keywords: disruptive technologies; enterprise resource management; ERM; enterprise utilities computing; radical innovation; strategic management; practical management implications; cloud computing; voice services; public utility.

DOI: 10.1504/IJGUC.2013.054490

International Journal of Grid and Utility Computing, 2013 Vol.4 No.1, pp.47 - 59

Received: 21 Dec 2011
Accepted: 22 Apr 2012
Published online: 18 Sep 2014 *

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